Camp 2019
Pickle Juice showing everyone that nothing stands a chance against God!
Day 1
We made it! The family is back together again. Months of preparation and prayer have led us to this moment. Sunday night we gathered around a bonfire centering ourselves before the Lord as we step into our third year. We prayed with each other and over camp, joining with the many of you who are praying with us. While we were singing, geese flew over head honking as if to add to our praise, and a poem by Mary Oliver came to mind called “Wild Geese”.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
- Mary Oliver
Her words keep ringing in my ears. Whoever you are, the world is calling to you like the wild geese, announcing your place in the family of things. God has entrusted the care of His most precious ones to us this week. We do not take that lightly. 28 beautiful children, coming from situations most of us can not even dream up, arrived to camp yesterday with a mixed bag of emotions. Some children have been to RFK once or twice before while others are about to experience this radical family for the first time.
Either way, the excitement on the bus as we turned into camp was the same. It was palpable. Rounding the corner, bus honking like the wild geese the night before, we saw a multitude of people jumping and cheering and waving signs with each individual kid’s name on it. “Where’s my name?!”, one camper asked. As soon as he saw his name he turned to me with eyes lit up. Friends, each moment counts. All I could think was, “Little one, you don’t even know the love that is about to be lavished on you this week, let alone when you get off of this bus for the first time.”
If you aren’t familiar with RFK tradition, each year when the campers arrive we roll out a big red carpet; we make signs and we gather all of the staff at the entrance of the bus. As each child steps off of the bus, they are announced by name and the whole team cheers, like the wild geese, announcing each child’s place in God's Royal Family.
Let the week begin!
Day 2
Spirits are high today and goodness abounds. Many giggles echo throughout camp and the campers are settling into a good routine. Safe and healthy relationships are forming and we’re all being changed. Today held many adventures: canoes, fishing, archery, water-gun fights, games, a small petting zoo, and a tea party for the girls this morning.
The tea party is a crowd favorite from last year. We invited Carlinville Pageant Royalty to join us and they crown each of the sweet girls who come to the tea party. Everything is extravagant at Royal Family, because these kids deserve all the time and energy we can give them. Each girl picked out a dress from our rack of donated formal dresses, was escorted in by two amazing gentleman in suits, received their crown and were showered with words of affirmation. After the tea party they got to ride up the short path to the dining hall on the back of a convertible and practice their princess wave to the rest of the camp before lunch.
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This evening our bible teacher went through the story of David and Goliath during chapel. As she told the story, she stacked boxes that were painted like the giant, Goliath. Once the box-giant reached twice her size she told the campers of how David, a small shepherd boy, took down the giant with God on his side. She ran up on stage and with one swift kick, took down the box-giant Goliath and the boxes fell to the ground. When they fell, the campers noticed that each box had writing on the back of it. She started connecting the letters and written on the back of the giant was “fear”, “anger”, “confusion”, and “sadness”. “We may not have nine-foot giants anymore, but we still face giants everyday”, she told the campers. With each of the words on the stage, she began walking behind them talking about how it is possible to ask Jesus to help us take down the giants in front of us. She started kicking those boxes off of the stage, one by one, and asked adult staff to join her on stage. In front of all the campers, they kicked the box that represented their giant.
Without prompting, the campers and staff cheered for each person who took down their metaphorical giant and then a line started forming. Campers were coming up on stage and choosing a “giant”. They stood in front of the box, took a breath, and kicked the boxes off the stage. I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the house. This is the Good News for these kids, that in the midst of fear and confusion and loneliness, they have power to face the giants they encounter everyday. There are a multitude of giants in the foster care system, and all we can hope for right now is that each child knows God sees them in their pain and gives them the tiniest slingshot to take down those giants.
Day 3
(names have been changed for privacy)
A table full of bent, rusty, shiny, large, and small nails laid the groundwork for this morning’s object lesson. “If you were going to start a building project, which nail would you choose?” asked our bible teacher. Anyone’s first choice would be the shiny, strong nail. That would do the job. We may feel like the bent nail or the rusty nail that no one would want. She brought out a large magnet next. If the nails represent us, broken and left behind, the magnet represents God, always choosing us despite our own assessment of ourselves. The magnet doesn’t care if a nail is bent or rusty, it still grabs hold of metal. God will always choose us. Even when (especially when) we feel lost, forgotten, or left behind. God’s love and care is like a magnet, always drawn to us and actively drawing us to God.
This magnet-love and magnet-care is our mission this week. To emulate the depth and width and height and breadth of God’s love to each of these little ones. No one is unworthy of God’s love. Even when (especially when) a child acts out, melts down, doesn’t listen, requires a lot of personalized attention, or lashes out at us. At RFK we have measures put in place to offer the best care possible: a 2-1 counselor to camper ratio, 4 child specialists, 2 nurses, tons of support staff, and structured activities each day. We recognize that the children who come to this camp need serious love and care. We can’t predict the ways this love and care will be needed. We do know that it requires creativity, presence, and improvisation.
This morning was no exception. One camper (age 11) was struggling just before breakfast and resorted to yelling and lashing out at those around him. Transitions are particularly difficult for children who have been moved around a lot and Jack is no stranger to hard transitions. It took a good while to get him settled; everything was a battle. Getting him to sit down and not yell out during prayer & empowering him to make good decisions and use safe touch with others took a bit.
Jack has a hard time focusing and has been given fidget spinners to play with throughout the week. He began pretending the fidget spinner was an old rotary phone. Pastor Steve happened to catch wind of what Jack was doing and used his hand as a phone. Jack instantly caught on and for the next thirty minutes (no exaggeration), Jack and Pastor Steve spoke to each other over their pretend phones. Jack settled down and was drawn into the creativity of love that Pastor Steve was showing him. After some time, Jack decided to call Jesus.
Pastor Steve: “Hey, can you ask Jesus a question? Can you ask Jesus what kind of kid he thinks you are?
Jack: “… well, he has a lot to say…. he thinks I’m brave, strong, and courageous!”
Pastor Steve: “Ask him how much he loves you!”
Jack: (eyes lighting up) “he loves me eternally!”
This moment was so special. Jack was completely drawn in and Pastor Steve did not grow tired of giving him attention. Pastor Steve took a chance and ended up making a connection with Jack in a way that only he could do. Who knew that fidget spinners would be the means for a connection with God? May we continue to be light and love to those around us, with whatever means necessary.
Day 4
When we ask campers what their favorite part of camp has been so far, most have said “the birthday party!” A typical afternoon at RFK consists of boys and girls doing separate activities but today we threw a huge birthday party for everyone all afternoon. Each child was given a personalized cake, ice cream, and a slew of gifts that volunteers shopped for prior to camp. All campers swam together today and the annual cannonball contest took place. But that wasn’t all…
One of our favorite songs at camp is by a Christian hip-hop artist, Diego Fuller, and this morning he flew from Dallas, TX to surprise our campers. Diego spent the whole day with us for birthday party day! This was a tough secret to keep from them this week. Each time we’d sing his song, the adults would look around knowingly at each other. We surprised them during breakfast this morning. Before our meals, all of the staff line up and sing our RFK chant as they come inside. Rather than take our places with the kids after the chant ended, we started singing Diego Fuller’s song and then he ran in. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces!
This evening, Diego shared some of his testimony and performed a couple of songs for us. His testimony is his to share, but what you should know is that Diego grew up in the foster system as well. He told his story to a room full of kids who know this experience first-hand and told them they can be anything they want to be. He had their attention and they were eating up everything he said. It is one thing for us to come in and tell them they can do anything they want, it is another thing entirely when someone who has been through what they’ve been through shows them that foster care is simply a stepping stone to who they will become.
They have so much potential. Each of them uniquely made and capable of so much. We’ve gotten to know them this week and are aware of how special they are to God. It is hard to believe that we will all go home tomorrow, but as we’ve continued to stay since we started - we won’t leave unchanged. Neither will the campers. Seeds have been planted and we can only imagine what good fruit they will produce. What a gift to be a part of their lives! Pray with us that as we enter our last day of camp, we continue to find moments of ministry and connection and that each camper leaves this place knowing the deep, deep love of Jesus.
Day 5
And that’s a wrap! Our week at camp has drawn to a close and we now head back into our daily lives. Our transition is not met without grief as we hold each of those kids close to our hearts. Our last day of camp started with a talent show. The campers discussed their acts all week and they definitely didn’t disappoint. One of our graduating campers sang “You Say” by Christian artist Lauren Daigle and had everyone in tears.
“You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity”
The lyrics to this song are exactly what we pray for each of the campers. That they would find their worth and identity in the never failing love of Jesus. That they would be able to silence the voice of the enemy that tells them they aren’t worth anything or that no one loves them. As she sang those words, she was kicking down her giants. The talent show is when we get to see a glimpse of the transformation that takes place at camp. The kids who came in on Monday, unsure and guarded, are showing truer versions of themselves by Friday, confident and trusting. This is what camp does - it offers a safe place for campers to let their guards down and truly experience the love offered to them. We don’t take advantage of this. We know that it is difficult for our campers to let us in, and we are honored to catch glimpses of who they are.
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We had a closing & graduation ceremony at Church with the campers and their families. Recap videos from each day played on the screens and campers pointed to their pictures, telling their families of the adventure they had at camp. Four campers graduated this year and their cousins (camp counselors) came to the front to speak good words over them and they each received a certificate. It is incredibly difficult to say goodbye to campers who have been there the last few years. We are crossing our fingers that God brings them back to us as junior support staff in four years when they turn 16.
Our ceremony ended and one by one the campers were called out to join their families and head home. This point of the week is saturated in emotion. Campers and staff were crying as we all said “see you later”. It is hard to articulate what is it about camp that carves out such a special place in our hearts. All I can begin to say is that this week God impressed upon each of us the immense love God has for these children, and for all of us. It is a well that never runs dry. With each smile and laugh from the kids, we also felt the love of God. I can’t say it enough, these kids are so special. And to know they let us in to the tender parts they try to hide from others, well, its the biggest honor we could hold.
And now, as we come to a close, an excerpt from a blessing by John O’Donohue:
“As the [week] draws to its end, we give thanks for the gifts it brought and how they became inlaid within, where neither time nor tide can touch them… We bless this [week] for all we learned, for all we loved and lost and for the quiet way it brought us nearer to our invisible destination.”